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About the course

School Direct is a school-led initial teacher training pathway that offers practical, ‘on-the-job’ training and teacher education. The programme aims to create highly qualified, highly skilled teachers, who are an integral part of a school community, with the expectation that successful trainees are employed within the alliance of schools they have trained in on completion of the programme.

You don't need to worry about being thrown in at the deep-end on our programme. Within your placement schools, you will be supported by an outstanding and well-trained classroom mentor and a member of the school’s Senior Leadership Team, in partnership with an experienced professional tutor from our University partner, The University of Derby. Alongside our committed ETSA training team, you will be supported every step of your journey to reach the professional standards of teaching and gain Qualified Teacher Status alongside your PGCE qualification. Your timetable and teaching responsibility will increase as you gain in confidence and skill.

Your training will be delivered by expert teachers within the school and complemented by training by expert educators at the University of Derby, ranked 'outstanding' by Ofsted. By being part of our cohort of ETSA trainees, you will also develop a strong professional support network with other School Direct trainees, who understand and share the School Direct teacher training experience alongside you.

Core modules focus on pedagogy and its practical implications and include

•Professional Practice and Pedagogy

•Theories of Learning and Teaching: The Pupil as Learner

•Developing Teacher Enquiry: Research Informed Practice

All assessments relate to your school placements; you will complete three assessed teaching placements, two in your main school and one in a second school, and additional enhanced school opportunities, which will provide you with the challenging and exciting experience you need. There will be in-depth teacher enquiry on school-based issues.

Successful completion of the course leads to the award of Postgraduate Certificate of Education (PGCE) which includes recommendation for Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). You will also have the opportunity to gain 60 Masters level credits, University of Derby, or elsewhere.

You can tailor your studies to match your own interests and career plans. Depending on your preference and any prior experience, you can choose to specialise in teaching Early Years (3–7 year olds), Primary (5–11 year olds), or SEND.

Interview process

Interviews will take place in one of our West Midlands schools by headteachers from our school partnership and link tutors from the University. During the interview process we would observe you interacting with a group of children, conduct additional numeracy, literacy and ICT tasks and conduct a formal interview where we would ask you to complete a presentation . We aim for our interview process to be as relaxing as possible so that you can feel comfortable and show us your true potential.

All final offers for places on the programme will be made by the University.

The Professional Skills test is required; this is a core skills tests in numeracy and literacy and are to be completed before you begin the training course.

How school placements work

As part of the course, you will undertake three assessed teaching placements in good schools to broaden your experience. You will be supported throughout by our ‘outstanding’ trained school mentors and link University tutors.

Our alliance of schools are each unique yet share our values of integrity, inclusion and success for all children, regardless of their background. Our West Midlands schools include rural, multi-cultural and inner city schools who are part of the REAch2 Academy Trust, the largest primary only academy trust in the country. Joining REAch2 brings with it unrivalled training and development and excellent career progression. To find out more visit www.reach2.org

The majority of candidates apply to us with an alliance school in mind, and name this school on their application. Where an applicant has not named a specific school, we take into account the distance a candidate will have to travel from home to school when placing candidates, as well as any preferences discussed during the interview process. Because we see School Direct training as a long-term investment in teachers, we feel it is important that candidates are training in an alliance of schools which is right for them. Our motto is train with us, stay with us!

Requirements

Qualifications

All candidates must hold a UK degree (or equivalent) with at least a 2:2 in a relevant subject.

If you are currently studying towards an undergraduate degree, you must have completed the course prior to commence a School Direct training programme.

All qualifications gained outside of the UK will be checked to ensure they meet the relevant equivalency standards.

Personal qualities

We are looking for applicants who understand the difference high quality education makes to children. We want to see passion and creativity, reflection and emotional intelligence, resilience and integrity. Candidates need to have an appreciation of how children learn and an awareness of how to engage them in the learning process. You should be confident, articulate and have a strong work ethic and sense of humour!

Other requirements

It is recommended that candidates gain some experience in a school prior to commencing the training programme.

A Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check is required at the point of accepting a place at the University. The Disclosure and Barring Service was established when the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) and Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) merged in 2012 and will now provide the criminal records checking service for this course.

About the training provider

Who are we?

The Endeavour Teaching School Alliance (ETSA) is a vibrant partnership of schools who are passionate about nurturing talented individuals to become outstanding Primary School teachers.

Our diverse and expanding alliance currently has 16 schools across London and the West Midlands. Our teacher training is in partnership with two outstanding Universities: UCL Institute of Education and The University of Derby.

Our success:

Our trainees are successful; over the last 5 years, 100% of our School Direct trainees were graded good or outstanding at the end of the course. We provide comprehensive training to our School Direct mentors to enable you to get the best possible support. This is complemented by the practical training you will receive from us, led by outstanding classroom teachers and experts in their field. Previous trainees have 'loved' our 'on the job training' and the 'strong relationships' they built with our team.

Interview process:

Shortlisted candidates attend an interview at our lead school which consists of:

Child centred activity

Maths and English assessments

Presentation

Interview

Support:

No matter which partner school in the Endeavour Teaching School Alliance you apply to, you will be a valued member of our staff and part of our school community. You will have personalised support from an experienced class mentor, a senior leader and our Teaching School hub lead. Your classroom practice will be enhanced by our comprehensive training programme, led by outstanding teachers across our alliance.

Training with disabilities and other needs

We have a strong commitment to equality and inclusion and we seek to offer a first class education to all students, including students with disabilities. All of our sites are wheelchair accessible and we undertake all reasonable adjustments necessary to ensure inclusion of all disabilities.

We are committed to our Equality Policy in respect of serving students and employing staff. Within this policy we will endeavour to ensure that disabled students and staff receive the same standards of service as others. We will not tolerate discrimination on the grounds of disability.